Most successful coaches adhere to certain principles and
philosophies that remain, for the most part, unwavering. If a coach
is constantly moving the goalposts with his players, he's going to
lose his kids' trust pretty quickly. It's a concept not too
different from being a parent.

Just like a parent, sometimes a coach needs to re-evaluate his
or her belief system, especially if confronted with realities that
change many of his or her former tenets. This is what was forced
upon Adelphi coach Gordon Purdie by his two faceoff specalists,
junior Greg Puskuldjian and graduate student Rashad Cureton.

The lesson learned from Puskuldjian is one that every coach
— and pretty much every human being — has had to learn:
allowing first impressions to control perceptions isn't always the
right choice. You can't really blame Purdie for his initial read on
Puskuldjian because he just wasn't very good when he showed up as a
walk-on in 2011.

"As a freshman, his stick skills were incredibly poor," said
Purdie. "After his first year he was our No. 5 faceoff guy and
going into his second year, which was last year, he was our No. 4
faceoff guy, which was low guy on the totem pole. He was that guy
where everybody looked at him and said, 'C'mon Greg,' because
— and I hate to say this — he was a bit of a
drill-buster."

Between the 2011 fall ball and 2012 season, his sophomore year,
Puskuldjian completely transformed his game. He shed weight while
training for a marathon and went out to the practice field every
day to work on draws. He recorded several 'down-set-whistle'
cadences into his iPhone and would put it on a loop as he trained
by himself.

"I pushed myself and did a lot to make sure that I would get
that starting spot," said Puskuldjian, who is a man of few words.
"I lost some weight and would do at least a hundred faceoffs a
day."

Purdie wasn't moved. He had the guys he felt would give him the
best chance, so Puskuldjian languished on the bench for the
season-opener against St. Rose and was inserted late in the
Panthers' laugher over Notre Dame de Namur in the second game. What
was becoming increasingly evident during practice, however, was
that Puskuldjian was a dominant force at the X. So he was given the
starting nod against Dominican (Calif.).

He won 19 of the 22 draws he took in that game and kept doing
it, game after game, for the 13-3 Panthers. Puskuldjian finished
with a 70.7 winning percentage at the dot last year, tops in
Division II.

"I had to fall on my sword as a coach," Purdie said. "Greg won
us games last year with his faceoffs and ability to run down and
shoot. He got game balls at different times. There were key plays
where he helped us win. We were undefeated at home and that's a
tribute to him."

"I didn't start the first couple of games, but once I got shot,
I made sure I made it count," Puskuldjian said. "I went out there
thinking to myself that I wasn't going to lose."

Purdie has since given Puskuldjian a scholarship and uses his
example whenever there might be some discontent among any of his
players.

"When I've got guys coming in saying they aren't getting enough
playing time, I turn around and say, 'Well, look at Greg,'" said
Purdie. "'How do you think he felt when he wasn't playing for a
year and then we didn't even play him the first two games?'

"But he never once came to see me. He never said, 'Coach put me
in.' He just did it by his actions. It certainly made me think
twice about everything that I do here. Sometimes you don't realize
as a head coach all of the talent that you may have. Sometimes we
get into playing certain guys and don't give other guys an
opportunity."

Cureton's lesson for Purdie was less about the skills a lacrosse
player needs to walk on the field at Adelphi, and more about
understanding that some youngsters are more mature than your
standard-aged student-athlete.

Arriving at Adelphi this spring for his graduate year, Cureton's
lacrosse cred was unquestioned. He won a pair of NJCAA national
titles as the faceoff man at Onondaga Community College and then
enrolled at Stony Brook for the 2011 season. There, he played
behind Adam Rand, who ended up being third in Division I history in
faceoffs won. With Rick Sowell leaving at the end of the '11
season, Cureton opted to concentrate on his academics, graduating
with a degree in political science.

With a degree in his pocket and a year of eligibility left,
Cureton took some advice from his old high school coach and took a
glance at the Adelphi program. Cureton decided to give it a whirl
while pursuing his Master's in sports management, but there was
this one little thing he had to take care of during fall ball.

Cureton ran for the New York State Assembly out of the 11th
District, which is essentially made up of the town of Babylon, just
down the road from his hometown of Amityville on Long Island.

"I was approached by the Republican Party leader. We spoke about
many things and he asked me if I'd like to run," Cureton said. "It
was a long campaign and a new experience, but I think I handled it
pretty well. I didn't win, but I won 25 percent of the vote. For
being 21 and the first time out, that's a pretty good
percentage."

It wasn't always easy handling a political race, a Master's
degree and fall ball, and Purdie had to let one professor know just
what Cureton was trying to achieve. The prof had approached Purdie
to let him know that there was a problem with Cureton in class.

"I asked him, 'What was he doing?' He was on his computer. I
said 'That doesn't sound like Rashad at all,'" said Purdie. "I
brought him in and asked, 'Rashad, what are you doing?' He said he
was listening to the President's speech because he was going on
News12 TV and he has to know everything about what is going
on."

Despite the two-year absence from the field and the fall
distractions, Cureton thrived in a crouch-and-clamp role. He is
currently running at 68.4 percent (65-for-95), which is just a
shade behind Puskuldjian's 69.7 mark (76-for-109).

While both Puskuldjian and Cureton are friends, they are fierce
competitors who admit they always want to win, even when they
tangle head-to-head during practices. It could have been a problem
with two alpha X-men vying for playing time, but Cureton has been a
cohesive force, especially on the sidelines when Puskuldjian gets
the nod.

"Whenever you get on the field, you want other people to cheer
for you and keep everything together," Cureton said. "From past
experiences, when everybody is into it, when the whole sideline is
into it, it boosts the morale of the team. The other day, we all
started getting into it and we scored two goals in about 10
seconds. With everybody together, cheering and rooting for each
other, it just produces a better morale for everyone on the
team."

"In a couple of games this year, Rashad would come up and say,
'Greg is hot right now. Keep him in,'" Purdie said. "Rashad is a
team player through and through, and a leader on the sideline. He
is a terrific kid who sees the big picture as a player. I'm not
sure I could have done that as a player. I wanted the opportunity
to play, but he is mature beyond his years."

Coaching has a way of keeping a man humble. Even with
Puskuldjian (11-for-13) and Cureton (7-for-10) dominating St.
Michael's on Saturday, the Purple Knights still found a way to edge
the Panthers, 11-9. It was the first loss of the season for Purdie
and his players, and there are likely to be other trials along the
way in the wide open race for the Division II championship.

However, these last couple of years have opened Purdie's eyes to
the heights and breadth of achievement that his student-athletes
can reach. How else to explain a former "drill buster" developing
into one of the best faceoff technicians in the country? Or the
other faceoff man hitting the campaign trail while still making it
to practice? For that, regardless of the season's outcome, Purdie
is a better coach.

Players of the Week

NCAA Division II
Max Zuccarini, M, Sr., St. Michael's
It didn't look good for the Purple Knights' winning streak with
No. 2 Adelphi coming to down, but thanks to Zuccarini, No. 11 St.
Mike's has now won seven in a row. Zuccarini scored five goals,
helping the Knights hand the Panthers their first loss of the
season. He scored three of his five markers in the second half,
including the eventual game winner.

NCAA Division III
Matt Cherry, M, Sr., Dickinson
The Red Devils haven't always had the cleanest victories on their
way to their No. 2 ranking, but by putting together a pair of
gritty conference road victories this week, Dickinson erased all
doubt about their cred. Cherry played a big part, scoring a pair of
goals in the 12-10 win over Gettysburg before netting one and
dropping four dimes in the comfortable, 15-10 triumph over No. 10
Washington College.

MCLA Division IJosh Nemes, A, Sr., Michigan State
The Spartans traveled to Maryland to face a couple of talented
non-conference opponents and, thanks to Nemes, State came home 2-0.
In MSU's convincing, 15-8 triumph over Virginia Tech, Nemes struck
for a hat trick and then followed that up with two more in the 11-6
victory over Clemson.

MCLA Division IIDan Schaepkens, M, Soph., Indiana
Tech
The Warriors took down a couple of CCLA blue bloods over the
weekend, establishing themselves as the team to beat in the
conference at this point, led by Schaepkens. In the 12-5 victory
over No. 10 Dayton on Friday, he scored two goals and dished out an
assist before dropping a hat trick, along with a helper, in the 9-5
triumph over No. 14 Grand Valley State.

Power Fives

NCAA Division II
1. Merychurst (11-0) – The Lakers
have now won three one-goal games against ranked competition.
Gritty.
2. Limestone (12-1) – Don't let the
Pfeiffer score worry you. The Saints needed OT last year to beat
the Falcons.
3. Merrimack (8-1) – And, just like
that, the Warriors are the top team in the North. They travel to
Adelphi on Saturday.
4. LIU Post (8-2) – I hate to be a
"close loss" guy, but the manner of Post's two setbacks makes be
believe this is their spot.
5. Adelphi (9-1) – Just like last year, the
Panthers are a completely different team on the road. They need to
beat 'Mack.

NCAA Division III
1. Cortland (11-0) – Looks like the
Red Dragons are going to miss their Naz game. They've still proven
themselves, I'd say.
2. Dickinson (12-0) – I've got a new
appreciation for the Red Devils after this week's impressive road
sweep.
3. RIT (11-2) – If there's such a
thing as a breakout junior year, Jack Kryzston (34g, 19a) is having
one.
4. Stevens (9-2) – The Ducks keep plugging
along, but the road trip to Nazareth will give us a better idea
about this team.
5. Roanoke (11-3) – Is there a hotter squad
right now outside the Top 3? I'm having a hard time finding
one.

MCLA Division II
1. St. Thomas (8-0) – Don't underestimate
the win over Minnesota. The Gophers are a quality Division I
program.
2. Westminster (10-4) – Can't hold
the loss against BYU against the Griffins until next year when they
make the jump.
3. St. John's (9-1) – The NDSU postponement
could hurt if the Bison get Peter Flock at full strength for the
make-up date.
4. Liberty (13-1) – The Flames have wrapped
up the regular season and a berth in Greenville. Now they play for
a seed.
5. Concordia (10-3) – Beating Fullerton
over the weekend was the last confirmation that the SLC title is in
the bag.

Notebooks

NCAA Division II: Dowling would be dead and
buried with last year's format, but this year the Lions are very
much alive.NCAA Division III: The Salisbury staff found
out they had to start from scratch when coaching this edition of
the Gulls.MCLA Division I: Sonoma head coach Doug Carl
has always relied on seniors, and this year is no different.MCLA Division II: Even with the win over
Dayton, Grove City will continue to consider themselves
underdogs.